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Vehicle manufacturers under pressure
to cut carbon emissions - PWC
Professional services firm Price Waterhouse
Coopers' South African Automotive division said
on Monday that petrol and diesel vehicles would continue
to dominate the market, despite manufacturers being
under pressure to reduce carbon emissions and improve
fuel savings.
"Increased regulations on carbon emissions, rising
demand for fossil fuels and more fuel-efficient
technologies are the major concerns of CEOs in the
automotive industry," commented South African Automotive
partner Mike Rudman, in a statement.
He stated that this challenged the manufacturers on how
to make vehicles more efficient, while still keeping
costs at an acceptable level to make ‘green' vehicles
attractive to consumers.
Rudman said that environmentally friendly cars had shown
little success, and consumers would only purchase
green-technology vehicles if they did not cost more than
conventional vehicles.
This meant petrol and diesel vehicles would continue to
dominate the market for the next few decades. However,
the automotive industry could contribute to CO2 emission
reductions through enhanced engine concepts, alternative
fuels and beyond engine technology.
Rudman suggested the industry could make significant
improvements through concepts such as downsizing,
charging and direct injection on petrol and diesel
vehicles, while the convergence of diesel and petrol
engines was also a viable option.
Further, the efficiency of internal combustion engines
could be further improved by moving towards
electrification and hybridisation.
In addition, Rudman said biofuels as an alternative fuel
had its advantages, but there was little arable land
available for the planting of such fuel sources, which
could endanger food supplies as well as damage the
environment.
On the other hand, gas, either liquefied or compressed,
already presented an alternative to traditional fuels.
Rudman adds that looking further into the future at
‘beyond engine technology', the internal combustion
engine's dominant position was likely to be replaced by
the hydrogen fuel cell, which would take advantage of
the existing electric components used in hybrids.
However, complete fuel cell dominance was still decades
away and even if introduced to the market by the middle
of the next decade, it would still take years for the
fuel cell to be fully accepted by consumers.
Meanwhile, Rudman said there were other peripheral
options available to the industry in reducing carbon
emissions, which included improved transmissions, driver
assistance programs, tyre technology and design,
aerodynamic drag refinements, alternative materials and
energy management within the vehicle.
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